After leaving the KTV room, Luo Shu pretended to return to his guest room but immediately activated Unobservable State and headed straight for Room 302.
Standing right in front of the guard, he pulled the TV remote from the man's hand to examine which button opened the entrance.
But after studying it for a while, he couldn't figure it out.
Just then, another person arrived.
Luo Shu quickly stuffed the remote back into the guard's hand and watched closely.
The guard nodded at the newcomer, then picked up the remote and used the number pad's pinyin input to type out:
"Zhīma kāimén" (Open Sesame).
The TV screen split apart like a door, revealing a passage.
The newcomer stepped right in.
Luo Shu followed suit, stepping toward the LCD screen—
The solid surface rippled like water, and he passed through effortlessly.
Logically, behind Room 302's TV should've been a wall, and behind that, Room 303.
But instead, Luo Shu found himself in a long corridor, lined with offices on both sides.
Clearly, this passage warped space, connecting directly to Site-CN-02 underground.
Looking back, he saw an open doorway leading back to Room 302, where the guard still sat on the sofa.
From this side, the TV was invisible—just an empty archway.
Exiting would be easier than entering. No remote needed—just walk out.
Time check: 8 minutes elapsed.
Subtracting the 3-4 minutes needed to return, he still had 20 minutes to explore.
Good. Scout the layout now, save time later.
Luo Shu moved down the corridor.
The office plaques along the walls made his heart skip:
MTF-Yi Chou-08
MTF-Yi Chou-02
MTF-Yi Chou-04
MTF-Theta-18 ("Blind Bard")
MTF-Yi Chou-10
Five Mobile Task Forces—more than Area-14!
But it made sense.
Site-CN-02 oversaw Beijing, China's ancient capital. It had existed for over a century, guarding against anomalies in a metropolis of 20+ million people.
Without this level of defense, Beijing would've fallen to an XK-class scenario long ago.
Luo Shu hurried past the MTF offices.
Though Site-CN-02 likely had no antimemetic anomalies (meaning staff wouldn't have Class-W Mnestics), provoking MTFs was still a bad idea.
Beyond the MTF offices lay Security Department HQ.
This arrangement—MTFs and Security guarding the entrance—made Site-CN-02 far more secure.
But against Unobservable State, it was useless.
Since he'd reached Security, Luo Shu stopped advancing.
"A craftsman must sharpen his tools first."
He needed to locate the monitoring room and server room to expand his surveillance network.
But with only one Mechanical Animation charge left, he couldn't take both at once.
Site-CN-02, though packed with anomalies, was far more compact than Area-51 or Area-14.
A quick sweep revealed no server or monitoring rooms on this floor.
At the end of the hallway stood a checkpoint, guarded by armed personnel.
Beyond it lay the Research and Containment Zones.
Adjacent to the checkpoint was a stairwell.
Luo Shu frowned.
If there were stairs leading up, did that mean Site-CN-02 had a third entrance?
He decided to investigate.
In Foundation sites, higher floors were safer—the real dangers lurked deep underground.
Climbing one flight, he emerged into a spacious atrium resembling Site-19's central garden.
A miniature Chinese landscape filled the space—bridges, pavilions, flowing water—a serene escape for those living underground.
Surrounding it were lounges, where Foundation staff sipped tea, coffee, and chatted.
Were it not for the anomalies below, this would've been paradise.
Luo Shu knew this wasn't ground level—the "Lord's Manor Resort" had no such area.
Meaning, he was still underground.
A quick survey confirmed:
This was the B1/B1.5 level—logistics, dorms, and cafeterias.
So the Security Department he'd entered through wasn't on B1, but B2 or B3.
A trick of spatial perception.
Luo Shu had assumed the entrance connected ground level to B1, but Site-CN-02's design skipped floors entirely—jumping from the hotel's 3rd floor straight to the lower basement levels.
This ensured that intruders or escaping anomalies, trapped by habitual thinking, would never find the real exit.
The Chinese really are smarter than those New World cowboys.
Time left: <10 minutes.
No time for admiration—Luo Shu rushed back downstairs.
If up led to Logistics, then down led to…?
With his remaining time, he'd find out.
Past Security, the lower stairwell had tight security—clearly a high-clearance zone.
Luo Shu took out SCP-005 (The Skeleton Key) and unlocked the door right in front of the guards.
Inside was another corridor, parallel to Security's floor.
The doors read:
"Archives"
"Monitoring Room"
"Server Room"